# SEO audit An SEO audit is a structured review of a site that ends in a list of changes with an order. You need it to decide what to fix first and what can wait. This page shows the parts, how to run one on a small site, and the traps to avoid. Updated 2026-09-14 · Source: https://porteur.ai/glossary/seo-audit ## What an SEO audit covers Cover the whole picture, not just a crawl export. For a small site, keep the scope tight and decisive. - Technical: crawlability, indexation, canonicals, redirects, speed, mobile, structured data. - On-page: titles, descriptions, headings, content quality, internal links. - Content: coverage of topics that matter, thin and decayed pages, cannibalisation. - Off-page: links, mentions, and what rivals show for your queries. - Performance, when data is connected: Search Console queries and pages, and analytics conversions. > Crawlers find facts, judgement sets the order. Do not ship a crawl as the audit. ## The deliverable founders should expect The deliverable is a short, ranked plan. Each item states the change, the pages it touches, why it matters, and the expected impact window. An example entry: Fix duplicate titles on /pricing and /pricing?ref=. Rewrite to one title under 60 characters, and set a canonical to /pricing. Goal: higher click through rate and stable indexation this month. Attach the crawl and sheets as evidence, not as the plan. The plan should fit on one page you can act on this week. ## How to run and read an SEO audit on a small site 1. **Start with the stakes** List the five pages that bring signups or sales. For a SaaS, that is often /, /pricing, /guides/getting-started, and two key features pages. 2. **Crawl and spot blockers** Run a crawler to get status codes, canonicals, titles, descriptions, and heading data. Note 404s, 302s that should be 301, duplicate titles, missing descriptions, and noindex. 3. **Check indexation and queries** Open Search Console. Confirm the five pages are indexed. Pull the top queries for each page, plus impressions, clicks, and click through rate for the last 28 days. 4. **Assess content coverage** Map your core topics. For example, if you sell invoices, do you cover “invoice template”, “recurring invoice”, and “send invoice by email”. Flag thin pages and overlapping posts. 5. **Review speed and mobile** Run PageSpeed Insights for your top pages. Aim for LCP under 2.5 seconds, CLS under 0.1, and INP under 200 ms as of 2026. 6. **Scan links and rivals** List sites that mention or link to you. Compare the top three rivals on your target queries. Note gaps in topics and referring domains. 7. **Write the ranked plan** Group fixes by effort and impact. Put quick wins first. Tie each change to a page and a metric you can watch. A good readout sounds like: Fix /guides/getting-started H1 mismatch with title, add two internal links from /pricing and /, and consolidate two posts that both target “free invoice”. ## What to fix first - Blockers: wrong canonicals, noindex on live pages, redirect chains, 404s on linked URLs. - Big levers: missing titles and weak descriptions on pages with impressions but low clicks. - Confusion: cannibalisation where two pages chase the same query. - Trust and reach: a handful of relevant internal links to key pages, and one or two target backlinks. - Speed gremlins on money pages: large images, render blocking scripts, layout shift. Example, if /pricing shows many impressions for “product pricing” but a low click through rate, tighten the title and description, and match the H1. If two posts both target “invoice template”, merge them into one URL and redirect the old one with a 301. ## Common traps - Shipping a huge crawl export as the audit. The plan is missing. - Auditing every URL the same. Treat /, /pricing, and /signup first. - Chasing green scores and ignoring search demand. Fix what people search for. - Creating new pages before pruning thin or decayed ones. - Ignoring internal links. Most small sites can add five useful links today. - Assuming tools decide priority. Tools surface facts, they do not set goals. ## Questions ### What is an SEO audit in plain terms? It is a structured review of your site that ends with a ranked list of changes. It covers technical setup, on-page details, content coverage, off-page signals, and, when connected, performance data. ### Can I do my own SEO audit? Yes, for a small site you can. Crawl the site, check indexation in Search Console, review Core Web Vitals, map topics, and write a one page plan. Keep the scope tight and act on your top pages first. ### Can ChatGPT do an SEO audit? A model can read your crawl, pages, and Search Console exports and suggest priorities. It still needs your goals and context to set the final order. Use it to draft the plan, then apply judgement. ### How much does an SEO audit cost? It varies by scope and who runs it. For a small site, the highest cost is your time to collect data and make decisions. Focus the work on the pages that drive signups or sales. ### What are the top 5 SEO audit tools? Crawlers and suites surface facts like status codes, titles, and Core Web Vitals. Choose any you trust for crawling and reporting. The key is how you turn findings into a short, ranked plan. ### How do I measure if the audit worked? Track clicks and click through rate in Search Console for the affected pages over the next 28 days. Watch conversions in analytics. You should see cleaner indexing, better titles, and fewer dead ends. ## Read next - [Technical SEO checklist for a small site](https://porteur.ai/guides/technical-seo-checklist): Run these 20 technical SEO checks, in order. Each shows how to check it free and what fixed looks like for a site under 1,000 pages. - [On-page SEO checklist: the twelve things on the page](https://porteur.ai/guides/on-page-seo-checklist): The twelve page elements that move clicks and rankings, with examples you can copy to your own product pages today. - [Content decay: pages that earned more before, and the refresh](https://porteur.ai/guides/content-decay): See how to spot content decay in Search Console, why it happens, and a clear refresh method. When to merge instead, and how to measure recovery. - [Keyword cannibalization: two pages, one search, and how to fix it](https://porteur.ai/guides/keyword-cannibalization): Two pages ranking for one query cost you clicks. See it in Search Console, pick a winner, merge or canonicalise, and know when to keep both. - [The Search Console performance report, column by column](https://porteur.ai/guides/search-console-performance-report): Every column in the Google Search Console performance report explained with the traps that trip small sites, and how to act on each. - [Indexation](https://porteur.ai/glossary/indexation): Indexation means a page is stored in Google’s index and can appear in search. Here is how to check status, read Page indexing, and fix what blocks it. - [Technical SEO](https://porteur.ai/glossary/technical-seo): Technical SEO is the machinery that lets Google crawl, render, index and serve your site. Here is what to check, how to measure it and what to fix first. Want a quick start? Porteur reads your URL and nearby searches in about thirty seconds, free, and shows three findings you can act on now. Free check: https://porteur.ai/